StatMan Sports Podcast

On the 1 year anniversary of Kobe's death, Steve reflects on how it has been for him and what he has learned in the past year.
We all grieve different and he's still feeling the lingering effect of Kobe's death but he took the time to share the moments that lifted him during the past year, the lessons, the ups and downs and of course related it back to the sports world.
You do not want to miss it!

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NFL Wild Card Weekend Preview
Fittingly, an unprecedented 2020 NFL season remained unsettled until the 256th and final regular-season game. Washington's win on Sunday night clinched the NFC East division title (with a losing record, no less) and locked in the 2020 playoff field.

The league expanded its postseason to 14 teams this season, meaning only the No. 1 seeds -- the Chiefs in the AFC and the Packers in the NFC -- will get first-round byes. The other 12 teams will compete in a six-game wild-card weekend that opens in just six days.

Our playoff primer previews those matchups and takes a broader look at what each team must do to reach Super Bowl LV next month in Tampa, Florida, along with their updated chances via Football Power Index (FPI).
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Since the NBA introduced the three-point field goal in the 1979–80 season, the 50–40–90 shooting threshold has been reached by eight players:

• Larry Bird with the Boston Celtics
• Malcolm Brogdon with the Milwaukee Bucks
• Stephen Curry with the Golden State Warriors
• Kevin Durant with the Oklahoma City Thunder
• Reggie Miller with the Indiana Pacers
• Steve Nash with the Phoenix Suns
• Dirk Nowitzki with the Dallas Mavericks
• Mark Price with the Cleveland Cavaliers

Then there is Damian Lillard. He's the first player in NBA history to average at least 40 points per game with 50/50/90 shooting splits over a 10-game span. Put some respect on this man's name!
Aside from Damian's ridiculous statistical streak,

1. You'll Learn

• What changes Major League Baseball want to change for the 2022 playoffs.
• Anthony Davis is averaging 5 minutes played... in the 4th quarter (NOT GOOD)
• Why the Clippers are just better than the Lakers with numbers to prove it.

2. Resources

• StatMuse NBA
• Anthony Davis 4th quarter performances (2020 NBA season)
• Baseball Expansion News

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Enjoy the episode!
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To share your thoughts:

• Leave a comment on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Links below.
• Share this show and Ask Anything on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
• Visit our website for the last information and news: statmanpodcast.com
• Visit our STORE for sick merch!

To help out the show:

• Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help!
• Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, and now Google Podcast

Support the show

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In today's episode, we preview and breakdown the 2020 NBA Finals matchup between the 5th seed Miami Heat v.s. the 1st seed Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams had a particularly "easy" path to the NBA Finals nevertheless they were the best two teams in the NBA Bubble Post-season with both having a 12-3 record.
The coincidence of this series is quite delicious and will own the intrigue and conversation until the ball goes up Wednesday in Game 1. LeBron James will be playing against the team he helped win a pair of championships. This scenario will get heavy airplay in the build-up, as it should; LeBron was a solid favorite to return to the championship round once the Lakers got Anthony Davis, while the Heat make for a surprise guest. The Lakers bring a pair of All-NBA first-team members while Miami hasn’t had anyone on that level since
We break down all things Miami/LA this episode.
Three things to watch

1. Can Goran Dragic maintain his high level for yet another series?
2. How can the Lakers take advantage of their size?
3. Will the Heat’s young shooters cause problems for L.A.?

Number to know
40.7 -- The Lakers have averaged 40.7 points per game in the restricted area in the playoffs. That's down from a league-high 44.1 in the regular season, but still 7.5 more than any other team has averaged in the postseason.

By wide margins, the Lakers rank first in both field goal percentage in the restricted area (70.9%) and the percentage of their shots that have come in the restricted area (34%). LeBron James is responsible for almost half (48%) of their 610 restricted area points via his own buckets (87) and assists (59).

The Lakers have shot better from outside the paint in the playoffs (37.7%, effective field goal percentage of 50.4%) than they did in the regular season (35.5%, 47.7%). But protecting the rim remains extra critical in regard to slowing down the offense that ranked No. 1 in each of the last two rounds (114.4 points scored per 100 possessions in the conference semis, 117.8 per 100 in the conference finals).

That's why we may see a lot more 2-3 zone from the Heat in The Finals. The Lakers scored 39 points on 35 possessions against Miami's zone in the regular season and offer a different look than Boston with their two-big lineups. Though the Celtics got a lot more comfortable against the zone late in the last round, the Heat stuck with it, and it was critical in their fourth-quarter comeback in Game 6.

Most importantly, while open jumpers can be found against it with proper execution, the zone keeps Bam Adebayo near the basket a lot more than the Heat's man-to-man defense. Against this particular opponent, allowing open jumpers is far more preferable than allowing shots at the rim.

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After a week hiatus, I am back to give you my NBA Power Rankings Top 10 NBA teams going into the NBA Bubble playoffs. I also share a not no nice experience on Twitter with another fellow tweeter, and I round it off with Damian Lillard taking Skip Bayless soul in a Monday afternoon tweet.
NBA Power Rankings
It was impossible to predict what would happen during the season restart after 4 1/2 months off. But even expecting the unexpected, we have to be surprised by the performances of some teams in Orlando.

The title favorites have seemingly had a tough time adjusting. The Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers are a combined 7-10. The Lakers have had the worst offense in the restart, and the Bucks ranking 11th defensively over the last 11 days may be more shocking than that. Both Milwaukee and the Clippers lost to the Brooklyn Nets last week.

The Phoenix Suns probably shouldn't have been invited to the restart. But they were, they have their first five-game winning streak in 5 1/2 years, and they're still very much alive in the chase for eighth and ninth place in the Western Conference. The San Antonio Spurs went to Orlando to develop their young players and they've found themselves in the middle of that same chase.

Two playoff series in the East are set. The No. 1 seed Bucks will face the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic, while the No. 2 seed and defending-champion Toronto Raptors will face Brooklyn, the 7 seed. We also know that the Boston Celtics are the No. 3 seed in the East, while the Lakers are No. 1 in the West.

Everything else will be determined in the next seven days, with the Western Conference play-in series taking place on Saturday and, if necessary, Sunday.

With the top teams all stumbling, there's no obvious No. 1 in this week's rankings. Fortunately, this isn't college football or basketball, and the rankings don't really matter.
Feel free to disagree.

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